Category: Gov Press Releases

On 8 May 2018, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Government declared a new outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the country’s ninth outbreak. The latest situation report can be found on the WHO website.

The UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) has the capability to rapidly deploy public health experts at 48 hours’ notice in order to strengthen the in-country response, curtail the spread of disease, and ultimately save lives.

The deployment is in response to a call from the World Health Organisation’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). The GOARN team, which the members of the UK-PHRST will be part of, is working closely with the government of the DRC to rapidly scale up its operations in response to the current outbreak.

The 3 UK-PHRST team members deploying include 2 experts in tracking outbreaks (epidemiologists) and a data scientist. The team is expected to remain in the DRC for around 6 weeks, during which time they will help track the spread of the outbreak, and will also support in establishing robust data systems that will help align crucial information gathering. The UK-PHRST also has expertise in various other key areas for Ebola response, such as laboratory diagnostics, that can be deployed should they be needed.

The public health risk to the UK regarding the current Ebola outbreak is very low.

As the UK-PHRST’s deployment progresses, it will continue to provide support and share expertise with partners in DRC to strengthen the health system beyond the immediate response.

Professor Daniel Bausch, Director of the UK-PHRST said:

Unfortunately Ebola has again re-emerged in the DRC.

We are all aware of the potential devastation Ebola can cause, so it’s essential that we respond rapidly to stop the outbreak in its tracks.

Fortunately, we are seeing a rapid response both in the DRC and from international partners, and the UK-PHRST is proud to be part of that, providing specialist support that can benefit the country, not only for this outbreak but for the long-term.

The UK-PHRST, funded by the UK Aid, is a partnership between Public Health England (PHE) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. The team also works with the University of Oxford and King’s College London as academic partners. It continually monitors infectious diseases and other hazards globally, identifying situations where the deployment of specialist expertise could prevent these threats from turning into a global outbreak.

Public Health Minister Steve Brine MP, said:

The Ebola virus is absolutely devastating and it is critical to get it under control as quickly as possible to halt the spread.

Our expert UK Public Health Rapid Support Team will be on the ground to help the people and government in DRC to respond and recover and grow their ability to protect against disease into the future.

The UK was central to international efforts to bring this deadly virus under control in 2014, and it is only right that we continue to show global leadership.

Background

For information on the latest number of cases, please visit the WHO website.

UK-PHRST

UK-PHRST consists of public health experts, scientists, academics and clinicians ready to respond to urgent requests from countries around the world within 48 hours to support them in preventing local disease outbreaks from becoming global epidemics.

Informed by surveillance data, the UK-PHRST deploys on behalf of UK government in response to requests from low- and middle-income countries, as well as with the WHO and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN).

The UK-PHRST has previously deployed members to outbreaks in Ethiopia (acute watery diarrhoea), Nigeria (meningitis), Sierra Leone (water-borne disease/cholera risk), Madagascar (plague), Bangladesh (diphtheria) and Nigeria (Lassa fever).

The core team consists of:

• epidemiologists (experts in tracking and understanding disease transmission)
• microbiologists (diagnosing the cause of an outbreak)
• clinical researchers (developing the best patient management practices)
• social scientists (community engagement during outbreaks)
• data scientists (managing data and modelling outbreak trajectories)
• infection prevention and control experts (advising on preventing transmission)
• logisticians

The UK-PHRST consortium of research institutions includes the University of Oxford and King’s College London as academic partners.

About Public Health England

Public Health England exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities. It does this through world-leading science, knowledge and intelligence, advocacy, partnerships and the delivery of specialist public health services. PHE is an operationally autonomous executive agency of the Department of Health. www.gov.uk/phe

About the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a world-leading centre for research, postgraduate studies and continuing education in public and global health. LSHTM has a strong international presence with more than 1,300 staff and 4,000 students, and an annual research income of more than £124 million. LSHTM is one of the highest-rated research institutions in the UK, is partnered with two MRC University Units in The Gambia and Uganda and was named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards 2016. Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice. www.lshtm.ac.uk

About Oxford University’s Medical Sciences Division

The Division is one of the largest biomedical research centres in Europe, with over 2,500 people involved in research and more than 2,800 students. The University is rated the best in the world for medicine, and it is home to the UK’s top-ranked medical school. From the genetic and molecular basis of disease to the latest advances in neuroscience, Oxford is at the forefront of medical research. It has one of the largest clinical trial portfolios in the UK and great expertise in taking discoveries from the lab into the clinic. Partnerships with the local NHS Trusts enable patients to benefit from close links between medical research and healthcare delivery. A great strength of Oxford medicine is its long-standing network of clinical research units in Asia and Africa, enabling world-leading research on the most pressing global health challenges such as malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS and flu. Oxford is also renowned for its large-scale studies which examine the role of factors such as smoking, alcohol and diet on cancer, heart disease and other conditions. www.medsci.ox.ac.uk

About King’s College London

King’s College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (2016/17 QS World University Rankings) and among the oldest in England. King’s has more than 26,500 students (of whom nearly 10,400 are graduate students) from some 150 countries worldwide, and nearly 6,900 staff. The university is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King’s has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) King’s was ranked 6th nationally in the ‘power’ ranking, which takes into account both the quality and quantity of research activity and 7th for quality according to Times Higher Education rankings. Eighty-four percent of research at King’s was deemed ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (3* and 4*). The university is in the top 7 UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of more than £600 million. www.kcl.ac.uk

The Regulator of Social Housing has appointed six firms to join its Legal Services Framework Panel following a competitive tender process.

The panel is split into two Lots.

• Lot 1 is for the provision of advice on public, administrative and regulatory law; charity law; and corporate, commercial, and financial law. The four firms we have appointed are: Devonshires, Field Fisher, Trowers & Hamlins and Mills & Reeve.
• Lot 2 is for the provision of advice on Insolvency and Special Administration law. The five firms we have appointed are: CMS, Devonshires, Norton Rose Fulbright, Trowers & Hamlins and Mills & Reeve.

The Framework, which commenced on 1 May 2018, will be for a four-year term.

Further information

The regulation of social housing is the responsibility of the Regulation Committee, a statutory committee of the Homes and Communities Agency. The organisation refers to itself as the Regulator of Social Housing in undertaking the functions of the Regulation Committee. Homes England is the trading name of the HCA’s non-regulation functions.

The regulator’s purpose is to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs. It does this by undertaking robust economic regulation focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer. It also sets consumer standards and may take action if these standards are breached and there is a significant risk of serious detriment to tenants or potential tenants.

For more information visit the RSH website.

Our media enquiries page has contact details for journalists.

For general queries to RSH, please email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or call 0300 124 5225.

The successful community groups will receive up to £30,000 each to help support the vital work they do to educate young people about the dangers of carrying weapons.

Last year, hundreds of charities bid from an initial £765,000 worth of funding. By investing a further £1 million this year in early intervention initiatives the Home Office will provide critical support to local communities to help tackle knife crime.

This additional funding forms just one of over 60 measures announced in the Serious Violence Strategy which stresses the importance of early intervention to tackle the root causes of serious violence, backed with £40 million of Home Office funding.

Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins said:

I have seen the fantastic work charities have delivered with the community fund and I’m thrilled the next round will allow us to build on these successes.

Knife crime has devastating consequences for families and local communities and we are determined to provide necessary support for those most at risk.

Our Serious Violence Strategy places a new emphasis on early intervention and steering young people away from crime in the first place.

Already, 47 charities across the country have benefited from the Community Fund, including the London-based Ben Kinsella Trust and the Coventry-based Positive Youth Foundation.

CEO of the Positive Youth Foundation, Rashid Bhayat said:

Knife crime is a serious issue that the youth-work sector has been addressing sensitively for many years. Whilst not all areas have the same level of challenges, even one incident is one too many.

As an organisation, we are working very closely with young people, voluntary sector groups, the local authority and the police to ensure that young people in Coventry have a safe place to learn about the devastating consequences of carrying weapons.

The funding from the Home Office provided the opportunity to have these meaningful conversations. I would encourage organisations to apply to this funding round, as it will allow for much needed support and interventions for young people most at risk.

The Serious Violence Strategy recognises the importance of preventing often hard-to-reach young people from becoming involved in serious violence.

Alongside the strategy the Home Office launched #knifefree a communications campaign which helps share information on social media about the risk of carrying a knife, its effects and how to make the right decisions.

By investing in early intervention and education we will help give critical support for young people to provide them with the tools and opportunity they need to live violence-free lives.

Fintech – short for Financial Technology – is one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK economy. It encompasses innovation in financial services including digital banking, payment technologies, peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding platforms. Georgina will be responsible for promoting Northern Ireland’s thriving fintech sector and championing it as a place for firms to develop and grow their business.

Georgina is the digital transformation leader at Allstate and is known as a highly-accomplished technology expert in Northern Ireland. She has over 20 years of experience in tech businesses from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond said:

Fintech is the future of financial services, and we want each corner of the UK to be able to harness its power.
Our new regional fintech envoy for Northern Ireland, Georgina O’Leary, will help the sector to grow and flourish > throughout Belfast and beyond.

I want to congratulate Georgina on her new role. With her wealth of experience in the technology sector, I am
certain she will build on the success of the existing envoys in helping the UK to remain at the cutting edge of the
digital revolution.

Georgina joins the current envoys in championing fintech in their regions:

• David Ferguson, CEO of Nucleus Financial and Louise Smith, Head of Current Account Design for RBS (envoys for Scotland)
• David Duffy, CEO of CYBG (envoy for England)
• Chris Sier, Professor of Financial Technology at the University of Leeds (envoy for the Northern Powerhouse)

The Chancellor also announced today that Richard Theo, Co-Founder and CEO of Wealthify, would become the government’s new fintech envoy for Wales.

Further information:

• fintech is the apps, computer programs and other technologies that support and improve how we bank and access finance. It encompasses innovation in financial services such as crowdfunding, e-banking, payment technologies, peer-to-peer lending, and cryptocurrencies
• fintech contributes roughly £6.6 billion to GDP and employs over 61,000 people across the country. More people work in UK fintech than in New York fintech or in the combined fintech workforce of Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan

A man involved in drug-dealing and gang conflict has had his sentence increased after the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright QC MP, referred it for being too low.

Javarni Cato, 17, was originally detained as he and another male fled a flat in Gloucester where police had found heroin, crack cocaine, and over £500 in cash.

While on bail for the drug offences, Cato fired a pistol at a group of people but no one was hit. Less than a week later, he was involved in a similar shooting which seriously injured a taxi driver. The crimes are believed to be related to Huddersfield gang activity.

Cato was originally sentenced to 5 years 4 months imprisonment at Leeds Crown Court. Today, after the Attorney General’s reference, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 9 years.

Commenting on the sentence increase, the Attorney General said:

“I am pleased that the Court of Appeal has agreed with me that this sentence was too low. Gang-related crimes are serious offences, especially when firearms are involved, and a longer sentence more accurately reflects the damage that Cato’s actions have had on individuals and the wider community.”

The government has today (17 May 2018) welcomed Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, and has made a series of commitments to make sure people living in high-rise buildings are safe.

The government has committed to:

• launching a consultation on banning the use of combustible materials in cladding systems on high-rise residential buildings
• banning desktop studies if the current consultation – which closes on 25 May – does not demonstrate that they can be safely used
• ensuring residents have a better mechanism for blowing the whistle on landlords who do not maintain safe buildings
• changing the law to achieve meaningful and lasting reform of the building regulatory system, with strong sanctions for those who fail to comply
• inviting views to inform how the government could implement major reform of the regulatory system
• restructuring building regulations fire safety guidance to ensure it is clear

This is in addition to the £400 million of funding announced by the Prime Minister yesterday to fully fund local authorities and housing associations with the removal and replacement of aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding, the type used on Grenfell Tower, on social housing buildings above 18 metres.

Secretary of State for Housing, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, said:

It has been deeply moving to hear directly from the Grenfell Tower survivors and community in my first few weeks as Secretary of State.

This was a terrible tragedy that should never have happened. I welcome Dame Judith Hackitt’s comprehensive report and her calls for fundamental reform in the building sector. I am committed to making that happen as quickly as possible.

The cladding believed to be on Grenfell Tower was unlawful under existing building regulations. It should not have been used.

I will ensure there is no room for doubt over what materials can be used safely. Having listened carefully to concerns, I will consult on banning the use of combustible materials in cladding systems on high-rise residential buildings.

We must ensure the tragedy at Grenfell brings change and I call on the industry to work with me to achieve the urgent reform needed.

The government is already acting on Dame Judith’s interim recommendations by consulting on restricting or banning the use of ‘desktop studies’ as a way of assessing the fire performance of external cladding systems.

Dame Judith Hackitt’s review was commissioned in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and has concluded that significant systemic reform is needed spanning every aspect of the ‘life’ of a high-rise building – from design to construction to ownership and on-going management.

The review has found that regulations and guidance are misunderstood, and oversight and enforcement are inadequate. The recommendations set out a new regulatory system. Dame Judith says a collaborative approach is crucial, bringing together government, industry and the community.

Further information

Dame Judith Hackitt’s report is separate to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and, importantly, does not replace the criminal investigation or seek to identify the cause of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

• Dame Judith Hackitt’s final report was published today
• She has published a press release summarising her findings
• Her interim report was published in December 2017
• The consultation on the use of ‘desktop studies’ – a method used to assess fire performance of construction products and systems – will close on 25 May

Background to the review

The review of building safety and fire regulations was commissioned in July 2017 following the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June 2017.

It was commissioned by the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, and the then Home Secretary, Amber Rudd.

The review’s terms of reference were published in August 2017.

An interim report was published in December 2017.

Dame Judith brought industry representatives together for a summit held in January 2018.

Working groups were established and their findings were reported back to Dame Judith in March 2018.

Electro Rent, a global corporation with its headquarters in the US, acquired Microlease in February 2017. Both companies were close competitors in the rental of specialist equipment that tests and measures the performance of electronic devices used in industries such as telecommunications, defence, utilities and information technology.

The completed merger of the two businesses was referred to a group of independent panel members at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for an in-depth phase 2 investigation in October last year, after an initial phase 1 investigation identified competition concerns.

The group has today published its final decision, finding that Electro Rent’s purchase of Microlease is likely to lead to a worse deal for renters of testing and measurement equipment. They found that Electro Rent, though significantly smaller than Microlease in the UK, was the only other rental company operating in the country to have the resources and stock to compete effectively with Microlease.

The group has therefore concluded that it is likely the merger will lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the sector, and a worse deal for UK customers. It has decided that the merged business will have to sell Electro Rent UK to a new owner, to be approved by the CMA, in order to preserve competition.

Simon Polito, Inquiry Chair, said:

The merged business would be the only suitable UK supplier for a large number of customers. It is unlikely that the new company would be prevented from using its position to increase prices or reduce its quality of service to customers by new entrants or expansion of established companies.

Having looked at this in detail and sought views from a range of market participants, we therefore consider that Electro Rent needs to sell its pre-merger UK business to preserve competition.

We have set strict purchaser criteria to make sure the buyer will be able to operate the business to compete effectively before the CMA approves the sale.

Full information on the Electro Rent / Microlease merger inquiry.

Notes for editors

1. The business that is to be sold, Electro Rent UK, is the former UK operations of Electro Rent. The merged company will continue to operate in the UK with the former Microlease business.
2. Electro Rent and Microlease are both global corporations each with worldwide annual revenues of around £120 million. The head office of Electro Rent is in the US, and that of Microlease is in the UK.
3. Electro Rent acquired Microlease in January 2017. In February 2017 the CMA called in the merger for a phase 1 review. Electro Rent initially offered to sell its UK business to a competitor, in order to overcome the CMA’s concerns. However, the purchaser withdrew from the deal, and the CMA therefore referred the case for a phase 2 investigation on 19 October 2017.
4. On 5 February 2018 the group published its provisional findings and notice of possible remedies and invited views. The group considered responses to its provisional findings and its remedies notice.
5. All the CMA’s functions in phase 2 merger inquiries are performed by inquiry groups chosen from the CMA’s panel members. The appointed inquiry group are the decision-makers on phase 2 inquiries.
6. The CMA’s panel members come from a variety of backgrounds, including economics, law, accountancy and/or business; the membership of an inquiry group usually reflects a mix of expertise and experience.
7. The members of this inquiry group are Simon Polito (Inquiry Chair), Jeremy Newman, Jayne Scott and David Thomas.
8. Media enquiries to the CMA should be directed to press@cma.gsi.gov.uk or 020 3738 6460.